Upcoming
events and
topics of
interest for
SENGENers
February brings thoughts of Valentine’s Day, a
reminder that LOVE is important at every age.
So what better topic to explore in our February
newsletter…
As for SenGens your facilitators will be refocusing in two meetings (Feb
7 & 14) to refresh and decide on our discussion topics for the next few
months. Yes, you are welcome to join us at the DDC from 3-4:30pm.
The SenGen meeting on Feb 14 is cancelled but the meeting on Feb 28
will be held as usual at the DDC from 3-4:30PM. Stay tuned for the
discussion topic.
Upcoming DDC events
Monday Night Speaker Schedule 5:30 – 7PM at the DDC
Monday, February 6
Monday, February 13
Monday, February 20
Monday, February 27
Monday, March 6
Monday, March 13
Monday, March 20
Monday, March 27
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Erin Treat
TBA
Erin Treat
Carolyn Hobbs
Community Meeting
Bill Ball
Maureen Fallon-Cyr
Katherine Barr
2/1/17
Sati Sunday sitting schedule for winter and spring 2017
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
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SIT & DISCUSSION
February 12th & 26th
March 12th & 26th
April 9th & 23rd
May 14th & 28th
Jun 11th & 25th
Beginning Insight Mediation Class
with Erin Treat
Wednesdays in February, 6:00 – 7:30 pm
Insight meditation is a simple technique that develops our natural capacity to be
aware. It calms and concentrates the mind and cultivates a stable, nonjudgmental awareness that can bring clarity and serenity to daily life. It is also a
spiritual path that gradually dissolves the barriers to the full development of
wisdom and compassion. LEARN MORE & REGISTER >>
“Race: The Power of an Illusion", Episode 3, Feb 19, 5-7pm, DDC
The House We Live In
On January 8, nearly 70 of us gathered at the Dharma Center for a screening of
the first episode of Race – The Power of an Illusion, a three-part PBS documentary
film series that examines and challenges our assumptions about race. We also
participated in a rich discussion facilitated by Erin Treat, Resident Dharma Teacher
at the Durango Dharma Center, and Yong Oh, a visiting dharma leader.
Please join us for the next screening on Sunday, February 19 from 5 to 7 pm.
Each hour-long film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Erin. If you
cannot attend click HERE to view the film.
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2/1/17
THE HEART OF COMPASSION:
AN OPEN GATEWAY TO FREEDOM
Saturday, March 4, 10 am - 3:30 pm, DDC
In early March, Durango-based author and body-centered therapist
Carolyn Hobbs will offer a daylong retreat at the Dharma Center
focused on themes of joy, compassion and forgiveness. Using
meditation, inquiry, movement and dialogue, practice stepping
beyond ego’s unconscious reactions into the freedom found in
embodied compassion. Click HERE for more info and to register.
And now to that subject of LOVE
"Eros (Love) flies pursuing the young”.
From Sappho, Fragment 21 (trans. Campbell, Vol.
Greek Lyric I) (C6th B.C.)
SenGens may ask does it fly or does it just
change??
10 People Describe How Falling In Love
Changes As You Get Older,
EliteDaily.com, 11/2/16
I often wonder what it’s like to get older.
And as a hopeless romantic, I also
wonder: How will my outlook on love shift as I age?...
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2/1/17
Love in Old Age is Even Better, Aging Matters
News, events and ideas from the Centre for Elder
Research, 2/13/13
Love, like hope, springs eternal. It knows no age limits, no
retirement dates, no physical or mental infirmities. Indeed,
most who have lived and loved long enough would say it only gets better
with age. Our youth-obsessed culture pays little attention to the love affairs
of the elderly and certainly doesn’t champion them. But they’re there,
they’re more meaningful and committed than anything the passion of
youth can create, and they show the rest of us how it should be done. Here
are some of the benefits of love in old age…
The Buddha’s Teachings on Love
– by Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center
Just as blood nourishes the heart which
keeps it flowing, so love nourishes spiritual
freedom and is, in turn, kept flowing by it.
The connection is so strong that Buddhism,
often known as a Path of Freedom, could
equally be called a religion of love. Perhaps this is what he had in mind
when the Dalai Lama said his religion is kindness. For the Buddha, love is
one of the paths to full spiritual liberation.
If we call Buddhism a religion of love we need to be clear what we mean by
love, or more precisely, what forms of love we are including. Because
freedom is the guide, the measure, and the ultimate goal of all things
Buddhist, Buddhist love includes those forms of love that are characterized
by freedom. Love that involves clinging, lust, confusion, neediness, fear, or
grasping to self would, in Buddhist terms, be seen as expressions of
bondage and limitation…
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2/1/17
Love is the best medicine: Why strong relationships are good for our
health, Ruth Sutherland , Tuesday 24 March 2015, UK Independent
The effects of living with a health condition can
put our relationships under strain, but those of us
with strong relationships are 50% more likely to
survive life-threatening illness than people with
weaker ones…
Here are five top tips for keeping your relationships rich
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Don’t bottle it up
Expect change
Make time and space for intimacy
Remember everyone is different
Consider counseling
2017-01-19 "Being a Sacred Warrior in
These Tough Times" 49:13, James Baraz
Download Listen
Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a
burden to bear." As we enter a time of uncertainty and, many are experiencing a
swirl of emotions from apprehension and fear to anger and ill.
How can we use our dharma practice to acknowledge and
transform our negative emotions into wise effective response
coming from understanding and love?
Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley : IMCB Regular Talks
Page 5 of 8
2/1/17
On a snowy afternoon, sitting down to a fresh
Rugelach Pastry with a warm cup of tea,
that’s LOVE …
Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (I use
Neuchâtel)
¾ C granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon plus a pinch of salt
Large whole egg plus 3 large egg yolks
2 1/3C all-purpose flour
1 t pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ C (4oz) walnut halves or pieces
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 C plus 2 T (12 oz) apricot jam, melted and strained
2 C currants, raisins or other dried fruit
Fine sugar for dusting
(Recipe should yield 36 pastries)
Directions:
In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese
on medium speed until light and fluffy (scrape down the sides frequently). Add 1/2C granulated sugar
and ¼ t salt; beat until combined and fluffy (about 3 min). Add the egg yolks one at a time beating to
combine each. With the mixer on low gradually beat in the flour. Mix in the vanilla.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into three equal pieces and shape each
with the palm of your hand into round disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least an hour or
overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with
parchment paper. In your food processor, pulse together the walnuts, the remaining 1/4C of sugar, the
cinnamon and a pinch of salt until finely ground. On your lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of
dough into a 10 inch round about ¼” thick. Brush the top evenly with melted apricot jelly. Sprinkle with
1/3 of the walnut mixture and 1/3 of the currants. (soaking the currants for 10 minutes in boiling water
and draining well will enhance the flavor). Using your rolling pin, gently press the filling into the dough.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the round into 12 equal wedges. Beginning with the outside edge
of each wedge, roll up to enclose the filling. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets with the
Rugelach tip on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Lightly beat the whole egg
with 1 t of cold water; brush over the tops and sprinkle with fine sugar.
Bake two sheets rotating halfway through until the Rugelach are golden brown (20 – 25 minutes).
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Can be kept in an airtight container for 4 days. These also freeze well.
Adapted from a 2014 Martha Stewart recipe
Enjoy! Ross 1/30/17
BTW: please send me a recipe and a picture for posting…
Page 6 of 8
2/1/17
Now for our “lyrics section” a theme
straight for SenGen hearts…
“Out of our Heads” Cheryl Crow 2007
Click HERE to hear this song
If you feel you wanna fight me
There's a chain around your mind
When something is holding you tightly
What is real is so hard to find
Losing babies to genocide
Oh where's the meaning in that plight
Can't you see that we've really bought into
Every word they proclaimed and every lie, oh
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our
heads
And into our hearts
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our
heads
And into our hearts
Someone's feeding on your anger
Someone's been whispering in your ear
You've seen his face before
You've been played before
These aren't the words you need to hear
Through the dawn of darkness blindly
You have blood upon your hands
All the world will treat you kindly
But only the heart can understand, oh understand
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our
heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow
your
Tears and look to your heart…
Page 7 of 8
Every man is his own prophet
Oh every prophet just a man
I say all the women stand up, say yes to themselves
Teach your children best you can
Let every man bow to the best in himself
We're not killing any more
We're the wisest ones, everybody listen
'Cause you can't fight this feeling any more, oh
anymore
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our
heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow
your
Tears and look to your heart
If we could only get out of our heads, out of our
heads
And into our hearts
Children of Abraham lay down your fears, swallow
your
Tears and look to your heart
2/1/17
and ending our lovefest for February…
Don’t forget to check out our SenGen website at DURSENGENS
THANKS SO MUCH FOR SENDING me future events, readings, videos and audios.
Keep them coming to [email protected]. If you would
rather not be included on future SenGen Event Calendar
mailings, please let me know by return email. Ross P.
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2/1/17